Bachmann’s Gone, But Her Extreme Politics Remain

Instead of facing a variety of ethics investigations, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann announced today that she would retire from Congress. Her brand of politics has driven the Republican Congress to the unpopular extreme right, with a CNN poll last week showing that Republicans now have a 35 percent favorable rating and 59 percent unfavorable—the highest unfavorable rating since CNN started asking the question.

“Michele Bachmann’s Tea Party brand of extremism and obstruction have infected the entire Republican Congress, and her influence shows no signs of waning,” said Emily Bittner of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “This Republican Congress will continue to turn off Americans of all political stripes because they’re using the Bachmann playbook: put politics before solutions. The American people will now watch Republicans in Congress compete over who can be the most extreme and most radical to take Bachmann’s place pushing forward their extreme agenda.”